


Eye of the Hurricane

by constantconfusion14



Series: Toa Oneshots [3]
Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons)
Genre: 'deleted scene' type thing, Comfort, Fluff, Gen, Set during Episode 8, Super brief mention of drugs/alcohol, minor swearing b/c it's Zoe, zouxie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:47:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27373678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/constantconfusion14/pseuds/constantconfusion14
Summary: While hidden away at Hextech, Douxie is able to find a brief moment of peace with a certain pink-haired employee.
Relationships: Hisirdoux "Douxie" Casperan/Zoe
Series: Toa Oneshots [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2028712
Comments: 12
Kudos: 39





	Eye of the Hurricane

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, thanks for checking out my fic! It's just a little one shot I wrote because I'm convinced a Zouxie scene was cut out of episode 8. I guess this is my take on what that might've looked like. Enjoy!

Douxie looked around the back room of Hextech, watching everyone temporarily settle down. They’d gone from 1 to 100 within an hour and now they were back down to a mere 35. They all might’ve been stationary and safe for the time being, but their minds were restless. Douxie sighed slightly, feeling the pure exhaustion from the past couple of days catching up to him. 

Technically, it had only been a few hours since he’d clocked out from work. But physically and mentally? It felt like it had been years. Years worth of trying to stay hidden in a time period he no longer belonged. Years of trying to once again impress Merlin enough to earn the freedom to fix his mistakes. Years of fighting in a brutal war and barely escaping with his life and the life of those who followed him. 

He’d promised he’d bring them all back, which he had. But now one of them was missing: captured and mentally manipulated against his will. It didn’t feel like a win at all. All Douxie felt was complete and utter loss. 

He had to get out of this room. All of these kids had a history together. They knew each other. They trusted one another. But Douxie? He was an imposter. He didn’t know much about them and they certainly didn’t know him. Sure, they’d seemed to trust him back in the 12th century, but that was probably out of necessity. Now that they had more options, he was unnecessary. Douxie felt himself shrinking towards the back of the room, suddenly feeling immensely claustrophobic within the surprisingly large space. 

Air. He needed air. He needed to breathe. Douxie looked up at Archie, who was staring curiously at his wizard. He mouthed ‘I’ll be back,’ quite obviously before activating the motion sensors above the exit of the room. The door slid open quietly and Douxie turned around, slipping out before waiting to see if anyone had noticed. Other than Archie, he was sure no one had. 

Douxie quickly walked back down the hallway, not even glancing at the other employees. He never understood why this place was built like a zoo. Even if he had been a hedge wizard, Douxie wouldn’t ever bring himself to work here. He couldn’t handle the thought of people easily being able to peer in at him and second guess every decision he made. He was already doing that enough himself.

Once he approached the end of the corridor, the hidden door Zoe had activated slid open. Douxie stepped out into the sterile, white room and felt cold air gush into his lungs. It was easier to breathe out here. This kind of ultra-modern style wasn’t his favorite, not by a long shot. The expansive white walls seemed to stretch on forever and although cold and off putting, he felt a bit more relaxed. He suddenly wasn’t cramped and contained like some rabid animal. 

“Well, well, well. If it’s not the Boy Who Doesn’t Respond to Texts.”

Douxie smiled at the girl behind the desk but found himself unable to gather his voice enough for a response. Turned out he didn’t have to as Zoe immediately started barraging him with questions as soon as they made eye contact. “I’ve got many, many questions so we’re gonna do a rapid fire round: (1) What the  _ hell _ are you wearing, (2) Why do you have a posse all of a sudden and (3) When the hell did your old wind bag of a boss return from the dead?” She placed her hands on her hips and looked to the only other person in the room expectantly. 

Instead of responding, Douxie simply dragged his feet until he was towering over Zoe’s short frame. Without explaining his actions, he leaned forward and pulled her into a hug, making her squeak a little out of surprise. He placed his chin on her head and held her tightly. 

“Uh, okay. This is weird and uncomfortable.” She didn’t reciprocate the hug very much, but Douxie also had her arms pinned. 

“Oh, just shut up and enjoy the moment for once.” He murmured into the top of her head, noticing the calming, floral smell of her hair. 

“Mmmmm, nope. You and I both know I’m incapable of such a task. But, I will add two more questions to my previous list. (4) When was the last time you  _ showered _ , Doux? You smell awful.” Her voice took on a serious tone suddenly. “And...why do I get the feeling that something’s really wrong?”

He released her finally, leaning back to partially sit on the desk she’d been standing behind. He relaxed his posture and slouched to the point where they were at about eye level with each other. “Probably because something  _ is _ really wrong,” He sighed heavily, his eyes dropping to the floor. He was tired, his body ached and his magic reserves were practically depleted. If he let himself, he’d easily collapse into sobs against Zoe from the overwhelming stress weighing on his shoulders. 

Douxie gathered what emotional strength he had left and looked up to the pink-haired girl. She had her brows furrowed, eyes scanning over him with concern. Douxie spoke up before she had the chance to say something. “Rapid fire response round. Ready?” She nodded curtly. “(1) I’m wearing my old Camleot garments. (2) Everyone who followed me in here is currently being hunted by the Arcane Order and this is the only place I could think of that would be safe. (3) Merlin appeared a couple hours ago, bearing the news that the world is probably gonna end again. (4) Technically, I showered this morning but I accidentally time traveled like 20 minutes ago and got stuck in the 12th century so it’s been about a week my-time since I’ve bathed and (5) The Arcane Order kidnapped the Trollhunter, they’re probably going to kill everyone I love, I haven’t really slept these past few days, every part of me hurts and honestly I think I’m having a bit of an anxiety attack.” He breathlessly chuckled at her, sending an empty smile that looked more like a plea for help. 

Her lips parted slightly before she pressed them into a flat line. “Oh, geez. Come ‘ere, Doux.” She reached out and pulled him into a tight hug, his face pressed against her neck due to how much he was slouching. Douxie brought his arms up to about her waist and just let her hold him for a few minutes. He didn’t break down like he expected himself to, but he did let himself cry quietly. Large, hot tears slipped from beneath his eyes and dripped down his face. 

He was still processing the fact that he’d time travelled in the first place, let alone all that had happened while he’d been in the past. After centuries of doing nothing but waiting around, the past few days had been exhausting. Then, he’d been thrust into the future only to narrowly avoid death again. He’d watched Camelot collapse around them, destroying parts of the town he’d dedicated decades of his life to keeping safe. 

It was...it was almost too much. 

He sniffled quietly and Zoe pulled away, but she reached down and held his hand, rubbing soft circles on his skin. With her other hand, she reached up to brush the rivulets from his cheeks. When she skimmed the right side of his face, he winced. Why did that sting so much? Zoe examined him closely, looking just below his eye while she began talking. “I’m going to be completely honest, I’m pretty lost. But I did catch ‘time travel’ and ‘the world’s going to end’. Are you in the kind of mood where you want to talk about it or is silence the way to go tonight?”

Douxie tried to laugh, but it just came out as a large exhale through his nose. “I was hoping for a good ‘ole distraction, maybe? Just anything other than what I should be focusing on right now.” He smiled impishly at her. 

Zoe smiled grandly. “Oh, now  _ that _ I can do. Let’s start with this face of yours.”

A chuckle broke its way through Douxie’s lips. “Are you trying to give me a makeover? Sorry, darling, but not even the highest quality stuff can make me look presentable.”

Zoe rolled her eyes. “Oh, sure, you always say things like that but you and I both know how often people fawn over you. For the life of me, I don’t understand it.”

“Something to do with my mysterious angst factor, I’m assuming.”

“Yeah, okay, sure. This cut certainly isn’t hurting that.” She held his face, moving it side to side to inspect his cheek again.

“What cut?” He hadn’t realized he’d been scratched. 

“This big ass cut on your face. There’s like a billion pieces of wood and shit in here. What happened?”

A quick memory of Morgana mashing his face with the top of her tree-like shadow staff flashed through his mind. “Oh, I was uh...I had to banish Morgana for a couple hundred years. She got a few good whacks in before I was able to finish the job, though.”

“Well that was a wild sentence.” Zoe breezed past it, though, dedicated to her job of being Douxie’s distraction for the time being. “Give me your hand. And summon that healing thing you have. It’s not a large cut or anything, so just a minor fix should be enough.”

Douxie really,  _ really _ wasn’t in the mood to do magic right now but he was less in the mood to tell Zoe no. Also, now that she’d brought his attention to the scratch, he couldn’t stop focusing on how much it stung. So, he did as he was told and summoned a minor healing spell in his hand. Zoe lifted the appendage up for him and placed it on his cheek. A feeling Douxie had only recently learned to compare to Icy Hot flared against his skin for a few seconds. Zoe dropped his hand back to his side and inspected his face again. 

“Nice. Now you’re back to your radiant self.”

Douxie scoffed. He was sure the bags under his eyes had bags. “Sure.”

“Ah, wait, no. There’s still a few more things I need you to do. Especially if you’re going to remain in my presence.” She grabbed his arm and pulled, hoisting him to his feet. Zoe threaded her arm through his and took a few steps away from the desk. Douxie willingly followed. Once they were about a meter away, Zoe released his arm and walked around him in a slow circle. She had one hand on her chin and she looked him up and down, taking in every inch of his appearance. 

When she was back to his front side, she brought her eyes up to his. “For being centuries old, I’m kinda vibing with this style. But, if I’m being honest, your mood is definitely not matched for something this colorful right now. Besides, you looked incredibly uncomfortable. Do that clothes thing I’ve seen you do. And maybe take a magic shower or something.”

Douxie squinted his eyes and looked at her. “Are you serious? We’re playing dress up? Zoe, I’m exhausted from magic use already.”

Zoe regarded him for a moment before yielding. “Fine. I’ve got some stuff in my bag that’ll stand in place of a shower. But I really do think you’ll feel better if you change into some modern day clothes. After that, I won’t ask you to do any more magic, I promise. I’m just saying, there’s no way you’re comfortable as you are right now.”

To be fair, she was right. These clothes may have been conjured by magic, but they were itchy and heavy. Douxie longed for the lightweight, soft, artificial material he’d gotten used to over the years. Besides, even his minor chest armour was starting to weigh on his shoulders. And he missed his necklace. It had been a gift from Zoe, actually. Call him a sap, but he wore it for a reason. 

“Fine. But this is the last trick you’re getting out of me.” Without devoting much thought to the process, Douxie pulled magic from the bracer on his wrist. He cast it over himself quickly and in a flash, he was back in his normal attire. Immediately, the smell of fresh laundry struck his nose.  _ Ugh _ , he hadn’t actually realized how sour his other clothes were until he was wearing something clean. He relished for a moment in the soft flexibility of his familiar clothes. His favorite hoodie fit him perfectly and his high top converse were formed to the exact shape of his feet. This felt better. He felt better. 

“Aww, I see that smile. That’s the ‘Zoe was right,’ smile. I must admit I’m quite familiar with it at this point.”

Douxie waved her off. “Yeah, sure. Keep telling yourself the lies you need to make yourself happy.”

Zoe scoffed as she walked back over behind the front desk. “You’re terrible. Here I am, doing my best to cheer you up and make you feel better. And what do you do? Bully me. I mean, can you get any more cruel? What kind of friend does that?” She sent him an exaggerated frown before crouching down and rummaging under the desk. 

“A very, very, very old friend.” Douxie followed her, leaning up against the front of the desk and trying to see what she was gathering. She stood back up after a few moments, producing a small, black backpack. It was the one she always brought when they went adventuring. Douxie had enchanted it a while ago to be practically bottomless. It came in handy more times than he could count. 

He watched the girl now, as she stuck her entire arm inside the tiny bag, reaching for something far outside her grasp. Her tongue stuck out just slightly and her left eye squinted with effort. Douxie smiled. 

“Aha! Got it!” Zoe withdrew her arm from the bag suddenly, pulling a white pressurized can with it. She reached back in and quickly pulled out a bottle of cologne and a comb as well. “Makeshift shower. Not bad, right? Now crouch down or something. Let me work my magic.”

Douxie shook his head silently. “Not bad, indeed.” He turned away from her and then got to his knees as if he were about to pray. He heard the  _ pop _ of a plastic top being removed and felt Zoe step up directly behind him. There was a brief chill of dry shampoo being spritzed into his hair followed by Zoe’s thin fingers running through it. 

“Ugh, you owe me for this. Really, a week worth of grime and grease? Your hair hasn’t looked this bad since the first time we tried to dye it.” Despite her words, she massaged his scalp, working the powder into his black strands. Douxie had forgotten how nice it felt to have someone play with his hair. It had been a while since it had been cut by anyone other than himself. Maybe once all of this was over, he’d treat himself to an actual cut and a better dye job than he could manage alone. 

“Which one? Are we talking about the 1950’s when we tried to poorly bleach it or the 1980’s when we used actual dye and went for red?”

Zoe chirped out a laugh. “Ha!  _ Ohhhh no _ I forgot about that time in the 50’s!  _ That _ was a disaster. No, I was referring to that time when we got mixed up with those sorority girls in the 70’s. What was it...76? 77? That was a great night.” Her voice sounded nostalgic. 

Douxie’s voice, on the other hand, was filled with incredulity. “Speak for yourself. Those girls didn’t leave me or Archie alone the entire time we were there. And by the end it, they were so drunk they just assumed they were hallucinating my magic as  _ I  _ had to clean up after them. Although I will admit, their choice of purple was a good idea.” He closed his eyes as Zoe reached down and grabbed his bangs, spraying them and then harshly rubbing the powder in. Her nails scraped against his forehead slightly but he didn’t say anything. 

“Wait, you used your magic? Why don’t I remember that?” She sounded genuinely confused. 

“Do I have to remind you, Zo, that you were just as drunk as the lot of them? I literally had to carry you home.” He shuddered slightly. “ _ And  _ I had to scrub Archie’s fur after you violently projectile vom-”

“Ah, ah okay, okay. Not my finest moment, I’ll admit. It was still a fun night, though. At least, the parts I remember were fun. Besides, you’ve had some pretty rough nights yourself.” She set the bottle of dry shampoo on the front desk, and then pushed both of her hands through Douxie’s hair. He exhaled happily, relishing in the moment of serenity. Here, he was safe. Here, he could easily recount happier, less stressful times. Times when it was just him, Zoe and Archie against the endless battle of time. 

“Name one time I’ve been rougher than you.” The jovial tone of his voice surprised even him. Even a few minutes away from his responsibilities seemed to be doing him wonders. Or, maybe it wasn’t being away from the others...maybe it was being with someone in particular. 

“Oh, you don’t want to play that game, Casperan. Remember that time you accidentally ate that oh-so special brownie?  _ That _ was wild.” Her laugh was as light as a hot air balloon, lifting his spirits up into the sky, showing him the beauty of the stars at night. He couldn’t help but laugh with her. 

“Ah, well, it was the 70’s. Many such mistakes were made. But we were  _ young! _ ”

Zoe scoffed. “Doux, that was like a couple years ago. You might be able to get away with that excuse when we’re talking about the 1770’s, but not the 1970’s.” She (unfortunately) pulled her hands out of his hair and walked around so she was in front of him. A small hand extended towards him and he gladly accepted it. She pulled him back to his feet and he was soon towering over her once more. She lifted herself to her tiptoes and ruffled his bangs again, eventually letting them fall to frame his face naturally. “There. Much nicer.”

He reached a hand up and ruffled her pink hair in return, causing her to grunt and complain. When he removed his hand, he smiled at the unnecessary frizz he’d caused to stand up. “Same to you.”

Zoe glared and punched him harshly in the shoulder before reaching up and attempting to straighten her hair back to the way it was. Despite the pain (she never punched him gently), a carefree laugh bubbled out of Douxie. She smirked at him, an angry look pinned to her face. “I  _ was _ going to let you use my comb and cologne, but not anymore. Clearly, you’re feeling better without it.”

Douxie stared at her, happily perplexed. “For your information, that cologne is actually mine. You just refuse to give it back for some reason, allowing it to take up permanent residency in your backpack. Why, however, I have yet to figure out.”

Zoe just shrugged. “My goals are beyond your understanding,” she stuck her tongue out and walked back over to the desk, putting things back in the bag. Douxie followed her and once again leaned on it. 

“But, really, Zoe, thank you. I needed a break from all of...that,” He flipped his head backwards towards the room where everyone was currently hidden. As if on cue, he heard the secret door slide open. Both wizards turned to see a small, black dragon flapping towards them. 

“Oh, hey Arch!” Zoe smiled grandly at her friend. “Think you could just skip past me and get away with it? From the sounds of it, you two have had quite a day.” Archie landed on the counter next to Zoe. She reached over and gently brushed his head, following the curvature of his spine down his body. Archie closed his eyes and pushed against the contact, purring loudly. 

After a few seconds, Archie opened his eyes. “Hello, Zoe. Thank you for housing our little group of vagabonds despite the lack of notice.”

Zoe reached over again, scratching behind his ears deeply. Archie pushed into her hand again, clearly content. She smiled widely. “Anything for my two favorite boys. You’ll just have to owe me a rain check for our ruined plans this evening. Deal?”

“Deal,” Douxie agreed quickly. The idea of a relaxing night with Archie and Zoe, hunting minor creatures sounded amazing. He’d give anything to leave right now with them, back to the life he’d established before all of this. Unfortunately, he had responsibilities now. He couldn’t just walk away. 

It was as if Archie read his mind. “As nice as that all sounds, we’ve got a situation brewing in the backroom. Claire and Merlin are at a...disagreement. Something tells me you’re the only one who can get them both to simmer down before a screaming match ensues. Care to return with me?”

Douxie sighed. Of course Merlin would ruin the first moment of peace he’d found in days. He looked up to Zoe with regret. “Duty calls, darling.”

Zoe rolled her eyes but when they refocused on him, her gaze strengthened ten fold. It looked as though she were pouring hundreds of thousands of words worth of thought through the air with one glance. Douxie could tell there were a million things she wanted to say, but no time to say them. 

He supposed that applied to both of them. 


End file.
